If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Statement from Indiana Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird:

The news of Lance Stephenson’s arrest is very disappointing to the Pacers franchise and to me personally. We have worked very hard to bring in players that are excellent representatives of our franchise, community and state both on and off the court. Our commitment to this goal is too strong to permit the actions of one individual to reverse all of the positive strides that have been made as a franchise over the last couple of years or to hurt the image of the rest of the players on our team. Everyone in the Pacers organization remains strongly committed to our players representing Indianapolis and the state of Indiana in a positive way and will not condone behavior that reflects poorly on this franchise and community.

We are continuing to gather all of the facts regarding Lance’s arrest but regardless of the outcome of the investigation, Lance should not have put himself in the position he was in early Sunday morning. We have consistently emphasized to our players the importance of not putting themselves in situations where bad things can happen. Once all the facts are known we will deal appropriately with Lance so that he, the team and the entire Pacers community understands that this message cannot be ignored

Basketball isn't played with computers, spreadsheets, and simulations. ChicagoJ 4/21/13

Statement from Indiana Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird:

The news of Lance Stephenson’s arrest is very disappointing to the Pacers franchise and to me personally. We have worked very hard to bring in players that are excellent representatives of our franchise, community and state both on and off the court. Our commitment to this goal is too strong to permit the actions of one individual to reverse all of the positive strides that have been made as a franchise over the last couple of years or to hurt the image of the rest of the players on our team. Everyone in the Pacers organization remains strongly committed to our players representing Indianapolis and the state of Indiana in a positive way and will not condone behavior that reflects poorly on this franchise and community.

We are continuing to gather all of the facts regarding Lance’s arrest but regardless of the outcome of the investigation, Lance should not have put himself in the position he was in early Sunday morning. We have consistently emphasized to our players the importance of not putting themselves in situations where bad things can happen. Once all the facts are known we will deal appropriately with Lance so that he, the team and the entire Pacers community understands that this message cannot be ignored

I think what needs to be done is this...

The Pacer's front office buy a full page ad space on the front sports page , with the statement in huge fonts..
.
.
.

"They want to be famous. We want to be champions. They want to be rappers and backup dancers. We want to play football." - T.J. Ward, Denver Broncos

Re: Pacers statement regarding Lance Stephenson

Thanks. I don't have time to even begin reading the big fat Lance thread.

Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
And life itself, rushing over me
Life itself, the wind in black elms,
Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Jay@Section12 For This Useful Post:

Re: Pacers statement regarding Lance Stephenson

i dont know about the rest of you but ive just about had it with all the negative attention this has brought to the pacers. and by negative attention i mean a thread over 600 responses long.

i know the guy is potentially innocent, but then again, its just like the statement says, he shoulda avoided this situation regardless. now none of us are perfect, so im not crucifying the guy, but the pacers have to do what is best for the TEAM!!!!!

Stephenson, has a ton of raw talent, and i think many of the pacer fans would care less if he is a pacer or not, as long as he doesnt end up on another team and become a star. honestly, if lance is cut and NO ONE picks him up, does anyone care quite as much? the fear is he gets picked up and becomes a very good player. but probability is he continues his troublesome ways and yet time and time again it will get covered up, until eventually it catches up with him once again.

bottom line. Stephenson is on his way out the door and i could care less, b/c the pacers made one helluva a deal last week to get the pg we so desparately needed. again, im not trying to jump to conclusions, but if what has been reported is accurate than this guy is gone. i dont want him on the team, even it meant an NBA championship, i dont want this guy on the team.

its sickening if what is reported is true. okay thats my rant on this subject and now back to the continued LS saga.

Re: Pacers statement regarding Lance Stephenson

My official statement reads something like this...

We are continuing to gather all of the facts regarding Lance’s arrest but regardless of the outcome of the investigation, the Pacers should not have put themselves in the position they were in early Sunday morning.

It's not like the Williams/White draft is so long ago it could be forgotten. Cincy, super athletic gifts, attitude issues make the player a clear underachiever, Pacers check on player and feel he's ready to take a step forward and prove his issues are behind him.

There were players on the board. The next statement should be "Whoops, we skipped a crapload of guys even hobbiest draft experts saw as solid, safe options. Our bad."

Rexnom's point is sadly dead-on. At this point maybe they should punt on apologies and move into defiant indifference with something more along the lines of "What?!? You gotta problem with our pick?!? That's what I thought, now go stu-fu and get outta my face."

Re: Pacers statement regarding Lance Stephenson

Seems about right in overall message, but seems possibly a little bit soft. Might just be my perception of it, though.

I'm just curious, (I hate that I have to say that, but people on the internet tend to over react to just a simple question) why do you feel it is a bit soft?

Personally I think they said exactly what they should have. It is disappointing, we can't really make a decision until we know all the facts, and he shouldn't be in the situation, which I took to mean that even if it proven false he will most likely receive some form of discipline.

Re: Pacers statement regarding Lance Stephenson

There were players on the board. The next statement should be "Whoops, we skipped a crapload of guys even hobbiest draft experts saw as solid, safe options. Our bad."

De'Sean Butler is looking better and better by the minute.

-

Hey, its my turn. You've taken the lead for the past couple of years. Back off.

Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
And life itself, rushing over me
Life itself, the wind in black elms,
Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

Re: Pacers statement regarding Lance Stephenson

I'm just curious, (I hate that I have to say that, but people on the internet tend to over react to just a simple question) why do you feel it is a bit soft?

Personally I think they said exactly what they should have. It is disappointing, we can't really make a decision until we know all the facts, and he shouldn't be in the situation, which I took to mean that even if it proven false he will most likely receive some form of discipline.

"Possibly" a bit soft. It likely is right on the money, but with the fiascos the Pacers have been through and public perceptions being what they continue to be with respect to the franchise, it surprised me that the statement was quite as even handed as it seemed to be. From a pr standpoint, it would seem that, despite being morally wrong, more of a guilty until proven innocent tone, without actually coming right out and saying that, would have lent a little more credibility to the franchise taking a hard line stand against players that have issues off the court.

Again, it is probably just me and the mindset I am in currently that made me perceive the statement as being possibly a bit soft.

Re: Pacers statement regarding Lance Stephenson

Lance is never going to be a Pacer but we can't just come out & say that for a couple days.

I've wondered about that.

Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
And life itself, rushing over me
Life itself, the wind in black elms,
Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

Re: Pacers statement regarding Lance Stephenson

It's clear from the statement: he won't ever play as a Pacer. He might not always be a knucklehead, but right now it's a bad bet. Larry just got done telling him how important it was to keep it together - and now this? It's a bad betrayal.

Best thing for Lance is for his career to get put on hold and take a big long look in the mirror. If they can't rescind the contract, he ought to be man enough to give them the money back - it would be the right thing to do, but more importantly it would be the smart thing to do, because everyone in the league will hesitate to invest in him if they think it's just throwing their cap space down a rathole.

He's awfully young; he may not realize that his whole future now hangs in the balance. If I were advising him, I'd tell him that it's time to take some extraordinary actions. Apologies are not enough, especially not the formulaic mumblings that are the norm for transgressing athletes nowadays.

Best thing for the Pacers: just get out, and be glad it didn't happen in the playoffs.

:

Last edited by O'Bird; 08-17-2010 at 11:16 AM.

:

"Defense doesn't break down on the help, it breaks down on the recovery." - Chuck Daly

"The first shot does not beat you." - Chuck Daly

"To play defense and not foul is an art that must be mastered if you are going to be successful." - Chuck Daly

Re: Pacers statement regarding Lance Stephenson

Well, wait a minute, folks. Whatever happened to "innocent until proven guilty" in a court of law? Suppose for a moment Lance didn't push her but she really did fall? Or maybe, they did get into some kind of altercation where he did push her but she tripped and fell? Is it possible he didn't slam her head into the steps but instead looked to see if she were injured but stepped back in a hurried shocked panic after discovering the girl was unconscious and what looked to be him slamming her down was just him releasing her head in shock over what just happened?

Okay, a very faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar reach, but if I didn't know for a fact of a similar incident occuring to a old friend of mine from long ago, I'd swear there was no way he's innocent either especially with his short, but questionable track record.

Bird is correct, however; he should wait until all the facts are in before deciding what action to take next. But I if Lance receives anything less than "charges dropped/case dismissed", he's outta here. No doubt about it.

Re: Pacers statement regarding Lance Stephenson

With all the experience this front office has had dealing with this type of ****, I would hope that they'd be able to put together the Kubla Khan of "response statements" at this point.

My guess is that the Pacers PR department has a standard template with "fill in name of troubled Player" throughout the draft. In fact are we sure this isn't the same PR response from the last time this happened?

Re: Pacers statement regarding Lance Stephenson

It's clear from the statement: he won't ever play as a Pacer. He might not always be a knucklehead, but right now it's a bad bet. Larry just got done telling him how important it was to keep it together - and now this? It's a bad betrayal.

Best thing for Lance is for his career to get put on hold and take a big long look in the mirror. If they can't rescind the contract, he ought to be man enough to give them the money back - it would be the right thing to do, but more importantly it would be the smart thing to do, because everyone in the league will hesitate to invest in him if they think it's just throwing their cap space down a rathole.

He's awfully young; he may not realize that his whole future now hangs in the balance. If I were advising him, I'd tell him that it's time to take some extraordinary actions. Apologies are not enough, especially not the formulaic mumblings that are the norm for transgressing athletes nowadays.

Best thing for the Pacers: just get out, and be glad it didn't happen in the playoffs.

:

Clear from the statement. Good. Glad you believe it is, and hopefully, assuming Lance is guilty, you are right in your assessment of the situation.

Rescind the contract? What precedent or provision is there under the current CBA to rescind the contract? And, if there is, why hasn't it been used by teams, including the Pacers, prior to now?

As far as being "man enough" to give the money back, that expectation is bordering on the ridiculous. There would be ramifications both for Lance (presuming he is guilty) and the woman he allegedly did this to, as well as their child. In my opinion, it would be selfish, not manly, of Lance to attempt to preserve a chance at an NBA career by giving back money that ultimately, at this point, is likely earmarked primarily for the woman and their child. If he is guilty, the odds of him playing in the NBA, at this point, are about as high as Roy Hibbert becoming deadly from beyond the arc (and don't get any great ideas about that, either, we need to just let Walton do his job).

I also believe that the NBA as a league is becoming less and less likely to employ players with a history of significant violations of the law, and I would assume the new CBA will reflect just that. To believe that there are teams that would willingly pick up a player with this transgression in his history that is not already under contract with their own franchise is dubious at best, regardless of potential, especially with the current situation the league faces economically.

Yes, Lance needs to take extraordinary actions. It is simply a question of what choices of actions he actually has, at this point, and when he will have any opportunity to take any appropriate actions that are not dictated by the courts and authorities. He gave up the vast majority of his freedoms, especially with the alledged severity of this attack.

Re: Pacers statement regarding Lance Stephenson

It's clear to me from the tone of the statement that Lance will not wear a Pacer uniform unless we ultimately find that the charges are made up (0.1% chance).

The question is whether you

1) cut him ASAP (my choice) or

2) put him in a Tinsley-like limbo state until the 90 days or whatever pass, assuming that he does no jail time. Then maybe, just maybe, some of those NBA teams that paid attention to his summer league press clippings would be buffoonish enough to overlook the character issue and trade something (future 2nd rounder) for him.

Choice #2 seems not worth it, enduring 90 days of justifiable criticism for a future pick and saving the value of the contract (assuming that it can't be voided-- and why the heck don't they put STRONG character clauses in there????)

The poster "pacertom" since this forum began (and before!). I changed my name here to "Slick Pinkham" in honor of the imaginary player That Bobby "Slick" Leonard picked late in the 1971 ABA draft (true story!).
I'm (maybe) back after being repetedly banned, merely for supporting a different NFL team than do certain forum moderators.

Re: Pacers statement regarding Lance Stephenson

2) put him in a Tinsley-like limbo state until the 90 days or whatever pass, assuming that he does no jail time. Then maybe, just maybe, some of those NBA teams that paid attention to his summer league press clippings would be buffoonish enough to overlook the character issue and trade something (future 2nd rounder) for him.

according to the espn trade machine anyway, lance can be traded on 22 aug, or 30 days after he was signed. that's not too long to wait.

assuming we decide to trade lance, i suppose we should be able to get a 2nd rounder back. we did get a couple of 2nd rounders for shawne, albeit low ones.